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Characters / Universal Wrestling Federation Shooto The Next Generation Era

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    Debuted in The R.E.A.D. Year (2000) 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shooto_logo_2.jpg
Seeing R.E.A.D.

Luiz Azeredo

"I know I wasn’t the best fighter in the world, but I beat the best in the world, Anderson Silva, and many other great fighters like Niko Puhakka, Milton Vieira, Paul Daley and Cristiano Marcello."

Marcio Ramos Barbosa

"It is happening right now because people like me and my master Cromado kept holding the LL flag even when everybody else has left. Everybody else that could have done a lot for LL has left to go after their own goals. Me and Cromado were different: we've put LL before anything else in our lives and for the last years we have sacrificed a lot to keep LL alive. Now we are very proud to see it getting stronger and stronger."
— Marcelo Brigadeiro, on his master and the state of Luta Livre.

Ryan Bow

"Why Japan? Well, I was told by my BJJ instructor at the time that if I really wanted to succeed in fighting, Id be smart if I spent some time in Japan training. Shootfighters are some of the most technical fighters in the world. That was in 1997. At that time, in the U.S. most of the guys competing were heavy weight wrestlers and boxers. There wasn't really any light weight guys showing much technique. The game was based on power over technique and and people had just begun to cross training a little bit. So, I headed for the land of the rising sun to learn the technical game."

  • Cool Teacher: A former trainer at Killer/Krazy Bee Gym (Purebred Tokyo). He opened his own gym in Japan, Kaminari Dojo Mixed Martial Arts Academy in 2005 till 2009. He briefly reopened it in the US but closed it again to travel, and pursue other ventures. He moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates as the head MMA coach at Team Nogueira Dubai. He has resigned from that position and has opened another gym, Fight Gods Mixed Martial Arts Academy and is the head instructor.
  • Determinator: Has a cyst that is in his brain since he was young that affects his health.
  • Fish out of Water: Came to live in Japan by himself at the age of 17 so this was expected. He even wrote a book that was loosely based on his life in Tokyo called Black Samurai: The Misadventures of a Black American MMA Fighter in Japan.
  • I Know Judo: Earned his black belt from the Kodokan at the age of 18 and trained alongside Judo Olympic Gold Medalists Yoshida Hidehiko and Takimoto at Yoshida Dojo, started in a unspecified style of Kung Fu and amateur wrestling, trained in Muay Thai in Thailand under the former Lumpinee Stadium Champion, Santien Noi, combat wrestling under Noriaki Kiguchi, shoot wrestling under Enson Inoue, shootboxing under Caeser Takeshi, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Robert Drysdale and was awarded his black belt in BJJ by Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira and former BJJ World Champion, Rafael Haubert in 2016. He also trained under Frank Shamrock at American Kickboxing Academy and under former Chute Boxe and Brazilian Top Team Coach, Sergio Cunha.
  • Odd Friendship: With Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto as students of Enson Inoue and head trainers of Killer/Krazy Bee Gym (originally Purebred Tokyo).
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: 5ft 5 and 155 pounds in his prime.
  • Red Baron: "Kaminari".
  • Scary Black Man
  • Ur-Example: Was the first American to place in the top three at the All Japan Amateur Shooto Championships.
  • Wrestling Family: Stated that his whole family were amateur wrestlers (and that he was the Black Sheep being the only one who didn’t achieve anything when doing it).
  • Yakuza: He has experience working with them as a student of Enson Inoue.

Thomas Denny

  • Bully Hunter: Participated in MTV's Bully Beatdown.
  • Cool Teacher: A head trainer of Team Wildman Vale Tudo.
  • Guest Fighter
  • I Know Boxing: Started when he was 10 years old, before turning to Kickboxing when he was 19. He also trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
  • Red Baron: "Wildman".
  • The Worf Effect: Denny participated in MTV's Bully Beatdown where he fought Dennis, "The Russian Meathead". To date, he is the only professional MMA fighter on the show to not score a single submission in the first round. During the 3 minutes in the submission round, Thomas was unable to apply a submission. He also failed to knock out the bully in the Kickboxing round, constituting the only time in the history of the show in which the bully got away with all the money.

Márcio Feitosa

  • Always Someone Better: Beaten in grappling matches by Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro twice.
  • The Apprentice: To Carlos Gracie Jr.
  • Authority Equals Ass Kicking: The Executive Director of Gracie Barra Brazil.
  • Cool Teacher: The head instructor for Gracie Barra International. Feitosa also helped develop the Gracie Barra in the United States, developing the systems to manage the schools and instructional content such as the 2nd version of the Gracie Barra Fundamentals, co-founding the Gracie Barra Headquarters, and managing 8 of his own schools located in California and Texas
  • Guest Fighter
  • I Know Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: A 5th degree black belt, a 3-time IBJJF World BJJ Champion in 1997, 2001, and 2002, a 5-time World Silver Medallist in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, and 2006, a ADCC champion in 2001, a 4-time Brazilian National champion in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999, a Brazilian Team Tournament champion, a 4-time Pan American Champion in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999, a Canada Jiu-Jitsu champion.
  • Hero Killer: Has defeated in BJJ and Nogi, Rodrigo Gracie, Leonardo Vieira, Carlos Machado, Caol Uno, Royler Gracie, etc.
  • The Rival: Leonardo Vieira.

Lance Gibson Sr.

"Lance is one of my fighters who has been doing good things. He's is just now fighting in his weight class. He has been fighting heavyweights for years and had mixed results in the heavyweight category, but was always real tough."
— Matt Hume

Joey Gilbert

Anthony Hamlett

  • The Apprentice: To Matt Hume.
  • Combat Referee: A professional referee in the Northwest and has referred for UFC. He has refereed over 3000 fights between amateur and pro. Is considered top ref in MMA in the Northwest.
  • Cool Teacher: He is the head coach and manager of Northwest Elite Fight Team.
  • Guest Fighter
  • I Know Amateur Wrestling: He is a three time All American for the USAF team ranked as high as 5th in nation after world team trials. He also trained at AMC Pankration.
  • Red Baron: "Icee".

Takuhito Hida

Kentaro Imaizumi

  • The Apprentice: To Tenshin Matsumoto.
  • Heroic Build
  • I Know Sambo: Trained at SK Absolute and is a multiple time All Japan Sambo Champion in the 57kg class. He competed in combat and Catch Wrestling and is a multiple time 58kg class All Japan Champion and medalist in both.

Shigetoshi Iwase

Ronald Jhun

"I like to stand up first then ground-and-pound second."

Hideki Kadowaki

"Just enjoy life!"

  • The Apprentice: To Yoshinori Nishi.
  • Cool Teacher: A grappling trainer at Marupuro Gym and TTM URUSHI DOJO.
  • I Know Karate: Trained at the Daidōjuku-based Wajyutsu Keisyukai and was a 2000 All Japan Amateur Shooto Welter-weight runner up.
  • Signature Move: The Kadowaki special, which is a modified rear naked choke which is applied from the back crucifix position instead of the standard back mount.

Tatsuya Kawajiri

“I want to break his heart, and I want him to go away thinking, ‘I don’t want to face this guy anymore’. That’s how I fight.”

  • Always Someone Better: Was beaten twice by Gilbert Melendez.
  • The Apprentice: To Kenji Seki.
  • Heroic Build
  • Identical Stranger: Stylistically speaking. Like other T-Blood fighters, he is unique among Japanese mixed martial artists in that he is one of the few Asian fighters to have truly embraced a more modern style of combat, electing to mix up his striking with western-style grappling and inflicting serious damage from top position on the ground.
  • I Know Shoot Wrestling: Trained at T-Blood Mixed Martial Arts Academy (originally Team TOPS) and was a 1999 Amateur Shooto Eastern Japan Open Tournament Winner and the 2002 Shooto Welterweight Rookie Tournament Winner. He also trained in Kickboxing and has a K-1 record of 2 wins and 1 loss.
  • Red Baron: "Crusher".

Homare Kuboyama

Yuji Kusu

Ryota Matsune

  • The Apprentice: To Hiroshi Tsuruya.
  • Cool Teacher: The head instructor of Paraestra Okinawa.
  • I Know Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: A black belt and a 2002 All-Japan Team Jiu-Jitsu champion, and also knows shoot wrestling and is a All-Japan Amateur Shooto Featherweight Champion.
  • Red Baron: "The Shooto Junkie".

Takumi Nakayama

Stephen Palling

" I've said it, I'll always say it...and it isn't just 'cause I won...when B.J. (Penn) beat me, he just out-skilled me, but, the fight that I had that hurt me the most was with Stephen Palling in Hawaii. He hit me so hard, sometimes I was thinking, "Oh my god, I wish I was knocked out" because it hurt so bad!"
— Jen Pulver

Huanderson Pavao

  • The Apprentice: To Luta Livre mestre Eugenio Tadeu and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu mestre Julio César Pereira.
  • Badass Family: A cousin of Alexandre Franca “Pequeno” Nogueira and Leonardo "Leozada" Nogueira.
  • Cool Teacher: A coach for GFTeam.
  • Guest Fighter
  • I Know Luta Livre: Started training with his cousin Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira and was a Brazilian Champion in 2000, but the gym was too far away for him to continue so he joined Grappling Fight Team (formerly Gama Filho Team) to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which he is now a 3rd degree black belt, a Brazilian National Inter Team Champion in 1997 as a blue belt and 1999 as a purple belt, a silver medalist at the International World Master Championship in 2006, and a 3 time Rio de Janeiro State Champion in 1999 as a blue and in 2003 and 2006 as a black belt.
  • Jobber: Had only one fight in Shooto against Takanori Gomi, he lost.
  • Spell My Name With An S: MMA sites have mistakenly listed him as Anderson Pavao.

Greg Piper

Matthias Riccio

"I started Karate at six years old and was with that until I saw UFC on TV when I was eighteen. Then, I understood what a real fight was and that I had many things to learn! I then started wrestling, Pancrase, kickboxing, and boxing. Fighting has always been in my family’s blood. Sportively or not."

  • The Apprentice: To his father Laurent Riccio and Jerome Le Banner.
  • Badass Family: His brother Damien Riccio is also an MMA fighter and his father Laurent Riccio is a 6th dan shotokan master.
  • Bash Brothers: With his brothers Damien and Pepe.
  • Big Brother Instinct: His brother Pepe was 12 when Royce attacked him, so it is not surprising if he was the one who pulled a pistol or shotgun to chased the Gracies out.
  • Bouncer: A former bar bouncer in Perpignan.
  • Cool Teacher: An MMA trainer at SUPREME ARENA, Arts Martiaux Saint-Orens and has his own school, The Fire Team.
  • French Jerk
  • Guest Fighter
  • I Know Karate: A shotokan black belt under his father Laurent Riccio, and a French national champion in 1995. He also trained in Kickboxing at Le Banner Xtreme Team and is a European kickboxing champion in 2000, freestyle wrestling under former Olympian wrestler Georges Carbasse and trained in shoot wrestling at the Pancration Club Perpignan and was a France champion in 1997. He later trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
  • Jobber: A career of 6 wins and 10 losses.
  • Red Baron: "The Fire".

Paul Rodriguez

Chad W. Saunders

Toniko Junior

Andy Wang

"ANDY TAKE HIM DOWN!"
— BJ Penn, Andy's TUF coach.

"One of my all time favorite pain in the ass fighters on #TUF…Mr Andy Wang. #DWCOTD #Warrior'"
— Dana White, on his twitter with a clip of Andy losing his TUF fight and his interview.

  • The Apprentice: To Egan Inoue.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Wang is known for his flamboyant personality and bizarre fighting tactics.
  • Cool Teacher: He moved back to Taipei in 2004 with the sole purpose of hoping to help the spread of MMA in Taiwan. He later moved to China in 2011 and teaches BJJ in Beijing. He also coached a fight camp for India’s Super Fight League MMA promotion.
    • He is also a licensed high school teacher.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: He is mockingly called "The Warrior" because of his loss on The Ultimate Fighter and stated afterwards after bawling like a baby that he was a warrior.
  • Guest Fighter
  • I Know Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Trained at Grappling Unlimited and is a 3rd degree black belt.
  • Men Don't Cry: Averted, he bawled like a baby after losing his match on The Ultimate Fighter, prompting his own coach, B.J. Penn, to make fun of him on national TV... and in fact, the episode title was "Waaaah!" This was, of course, after Penn yelled at the BJJ blackbelt the entire fight to go to the ground; Wang instead choosing to stand, bang, and lose. Penn later kicked Wang off his team, the first time this has ever happened.
  • Odd Friendship: With Mac Danzig, TUF 6 champion. Danzig even credits Wang with convincing him to do the show when he had doubts about it.
  • Red Baron: "The Yellow Peril".
  • Ur-Example: The first Taiwanese Chinese fighter on The Ultimate Fighter.

Justin Wisniewski

Hirotaka Yokoi

"I don’t have anybody I really want to fight. But I just want to fight against strong guys. It’s important to earn a "W" in my record. But if I can enjoy fighting, I’ll fight anybody. But my opponent must be very strong guy."

  • The Apprentice: To Yasuki Mori, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka as part of the Alliance, as well as Akira Maeda and Hiromitsu Kanehara as part of RINGS Japan.
  • Ascended Fan Boy: Was a fan UWF and its offshoots, especially RINGS which he later joined.
  • Bash Brothers: With Kohei Sato as the ROWDY team.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: Wanted to join RINGS after finishing junior high school but his parents wanted him to finish high school first. Subverted in that he ended going through university before he debuted in Shooto.
  • Demoted to Extra: Might be hard to believe given that his main occupation in ZERO-ONE was being Kohei Sato's sidekick, but when Yokoi debuted in the promotion, he came riding a 10–0 MMA record and being one of most hyped Japanese fighters in PRIDE.
  • Determinator: He suffered some very nasty beatdowns in PRIDE, but it never stopped him from returning to the ring and facing an even worse opponent every time.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: His fight in Shooto was this as he then moved on to RINGS under the tutelage of Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.
  • Idiot From Osaka: He lives there now, but he was actually born in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido.
  • I Know Judo: As well as Sumo Wrestling in high school and university. He began his shoot wrestling training at RiRoots Conan.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: His second fight in PRIDE was against the league's second best fighter. His next fight was against the third one. His fourth fight was against the first one's master. And his last fight was against a future UFC champion. It can be safely said that Yokoi did not have an easy ride.
  • Pyrrhic Victory: Although he did not win, Yokoi gave a shockingly good debut match against the famed Minotauro Nogueira in PRIDE. However, this had a negative effect: if PRIDE executives weren't already eager to throw Yokoi to fighters he had no chance against on the belief it would be awesome, then the match with Nogueira convinced them to do so.
  • Red Baron: "Kaibutsu-kun" ("Monster-kun") for his physical resemblance to the title character from 1980s anime series Kaibutsu-kun.
  • Satellite Character: During his entire time in Pro Wrestling ZERO1, he was pretty much known only as "you know, that mixed martial artist who teams up with Sato".
  • Stout Strength: Was noticeably pudgy compared to other fighters in his weight class. This is thanks to his time in amateur Sumo Wrestling.
  • Wrestler in All of Us: Has wrestled for Pro Wrestling ZERO1.

Baret Yoshida

  • The Apprentice: To Egan Inoue.
  • Cool Teacher: The head jiu-jitsu coach for The Arena MMA gym.
  • Establishing Character Moment: His participation in the 1999 ADCC that put Yoshida’s name on the map. Baret Yoshida had fought on the trials and made it to the final, though he lost. He was called to the finals as an alternate because one of the competitors had injured himself and could no longer compete. In that tournament, the younger and less experienced Baret gave a very tough challenge to one of the most dominant fighters to have ever competed, Royler Gracie. Yoshida lost a chance to medal, but he gained a legion of fans, and was invited into the tournament in the following years.
  • I Know Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Trained at Grappling Unlimited and is a 3rd degree black belt.
  • Red Baron: "The Finisher", "The Baretcuda".
  • Unrelated Brothers: No relation to Hiroshi.

    Debuted in The To The Top Year (2001) 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3052_b1.jpg
It's A Long Way To The Top If Ya Wanna Shooto

Akihiko Adachi

Kassim Annan

Jeremy Bennett

  • The Apprentice: To Erik Paulson.
  • Cool Teacher: He was an urban assault instructor at the Urban Warfare Training Center.
  • I Know Boxing: As well as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, shoot wrestling, and the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP).
  • Semper Fi: Served in the Marine Corps from 2003 until 2010, both active and reserve duties. He deployed to Iraq in 2004 with the 2nd and 4th Marines as a infantryman, was stationed in Ramadi, Iraq, for eight months, later deployed to Okinawa, Japan, and the Philippines and ended his career with the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.

Steve Berger

"There are few names in the St. Louis MMA circle that carry as much weight, and deservingly so, as Steve Berger. When most of today's Tapout-wearing fans didn't know the difference between an armbar from a triangle, Berger was in the cage getting it done. He had his first pro fight in January of 1998 and by 2001 he had made his way to the sport's pinnacle; the UFC."
— Brett Auten, a writer for http://www.knucklejunkies.com/.

"I had always thought boxing was the epitome. I thought Mike Tyson could beat anybody in the world. I saw the UFC and little, skinny Royce whip everybody up and I was like, ‘Wow, maybe boxing is not it.'"
— Steve Berger

Kotetsu Boku

"My motivation is that I want to know my limit. I have already come a long way, so I would like to fight until I am 100 per cent satisfied."

  • The Apprentice: To Kazuhiro Kusayanagi, Enson Inoue and Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: Is called Kanchoru by his seniors for some reason.
  • Granola Guy: Is a vegan.
  • Hidden Depths: He is an aspiring artist.
  • I Know Karate: Seidokaikan Karate and placed 2nd in the 2000 K-1 Monster Challenge, he also trained in boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, shoot wrestling and was a 2001 All Japan Amateur Shooto Welterweight Champion, and trained at K’z Factory and Krazy Bee Gym. He also trained at Wajutsu Keishukai GODS.
  • Koreans in Japan: He is a Japanese-born South Korean. His real name is Park Kwang-cheol.
  • Panthera Awesome: His nickname "Korean Tiger" comes from the tiger tattoo on his torso.
  • Red Baron: "No Face", "Korean Tiger", "Mr. Elbow", "KRAZY BEE no Tokkō Sen'nin" ("KRAZY BEE Special Attack Hermit"), "Team KID Tokkōtai-chō" ("Team KID Commander").
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Beat Ryan Bow for Shooto Pacific Rim Welterweight Champion, then he vacated the title and left Shooto for Hero's.
  • Tattooed Crook: Subverted, he is covered in tattoos but is a good guy.

Jason Buck

Mike Cardoso

Tony DeDolph

Yoshifumi Dogaki

Marc Duncan

"You can have results or apologies, not both."

Rodney Ellis

  • Awesome Aussie
  • Cool Teacher: The head instructor of Southern Cross Jiu-Jitsu Academy.
  • I Know Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Started under Larry Papadopoulos at Spartan Gym, then Assed Haddad at the Osvaldo Alves academy, then Nova União Academy under André Pederneiras who presented him his black belt, now he continues to train under Marcelino Freitas and Fabiano "Babu" Freitas and is a 3rd degree black belt. He is a NSW BJJ Federation State Champion at purple belt in 2003 and brown belt in 2004, a 2001, 2005 & 2007 Australasian Submission Wrestling Runner Up (ADDC Qualifiers), a 2005 Rio de Janeiro State Runner-Up at brown belt, a 2007 and 2009 Pan Pacific Jiu-Jitsu Champion at black belt, a 2009 Australasian Submission Wrestling Champion (ADDC Qualifiers), and a Professional Gi Champion at 2010 Abu Dhabi Pro Gi. He is also a black belt in Goshin Ryu Ju-Jutsu under Gordon Griffiths.
  • Jobber: Had only one fight in Shooto against Isao Tanimura, he lost.
  • Start My Own: Founded the Australian Jiu-Jitsu Grand Prix in 2014.

Osmar Diaz Fernandez

"All I can say is that all Chute Boxe people are shocked. He left two kids, hundreds of students and thousands of friends. Osmar was a great person, one of the most important instructors of the team and also the promoter of Torneio Estimulo, which was launching a new generation of Muay Thai and MMA."
— Xicão Joly, a close friend of Osmar.

  • The Apprentice: To Rudimar Fedrigo.
  • Cool Teacher: A trainer at Chute Boxe Academy who trained the Rua brothers, Wanderlei Silva, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos and Fabricio Werdum.
  • Downer Ending: Was shot three times while leaving for home from the Chute Boxe Academy in 2008.
  • Guest Fighter
  • I Know Muay Thai: Trained at Chute Boxe Academy.
  • Jobber: Had only one fight in Shooto against Katsuya Toida, he lost.
  • Start My Own: Was the promoter of Torneio Estimulo, a Muay Thai and MMA event.

Hirofumi Hara

Tomohiro Hashi

Kuniyoshi Hironaka

"I started my martial arts training in Judo. The thing about Judo is once you get the “ippon” and pin your opponent, the fight was over. I felt that MMA was the only true way to measure my skills and to test myself."

  • The Apprentice: To Toshiyuki Wado.
  • Cool Teacher: Owns and is the head instructor of Master Japan.
  • Hero Killer: Holds a notable victory over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Jean Jacque Machado under submission grappling superfight rules at the event; 'PSL "LA Sub X" at the Santa Monic Civic Auditorium, on 26 / 5 / 2006. He also has beaten Nick Diaz.
  • I Know Judo: A black belt in both this and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he has also trained in Kickboxing at Academia Az and competed in shootboxing.

Eugene Hynson

Junji Ikoma

Shinobu Ito

Mitsuhiro Ishida

  • The Apprentice: To Kenji Seki.
  • Determinator: Japanese fans have given Ishida the nickname “The Endless Warrior” because of his relentless pace and ability to fight through adversity.
  • Identical Stranger: Stylistically speaking. Like other T-Blood fighters, he is unique among Japanese fighters in that he fights with a more Americanized, freestyle wrestling-based fighting style that few other native Asian fighters employ.
  • I Know Greco-Roman Wrestling: Ranked in the top five nationally during his high school years. He also trained in shoot wrestling at T-Blood Mixed Martial Arts Academy.
  • Master of None: While Ishida has shown that he has serious power in his hands, the vast majority of his professional wins have come by way of decision. Some have criticized his fighting style.
  • Red Baron: "The Endless Warrior".

Jun Ishii

  • The Apprentice: To Noriaki Kiguchi.
  • Cool Teacher: Owns and is the head instructor of Chozin Club.
  • I Know Judo: As well as combat wrestling and placed 2nd place at the 2002 Combat wrestling open tournament, and shoot wrestling and placed 2nd at the 7th All Japan Amateur Shooto Heavyweight Chapionships in 2000.
  • Stout Strength: A heavyweight at about 250 ibs.

Toshiteru Ishii

  • The Apprentice: To Yoshinori Nishi.
  • Canon Immigrant: A recurrent Shooto fighter from Yoshinori Nishi's Wajutsu Keishukai dojo.
  • Cool Teacher: A former trainer at Wajutsu Keishukai Tiger Place (Yokohama).
  • I Know Karate: Trained at the Daidōjuku-based Wajutsu Keishukai.
  • Jobber: A career 3 wins, 8 losses, and 3 draws.

Nobuyuki Kato

Akira Kibe

Hiroyasu Kodera

Akira Komatsu

Hiroshi Komatsu

Gildo Lima

Masa Marcome

Kim Mason

  • The Apprentice: To Matt Hume.
  • Churchgoing Villain: Apparently he murdered Hartanto Santoso because he was a christian and in a sexual relationship with Santoso and that Santoso would expose him as a homosexual.
  • Depraved Bisexual: Was in a sexual relationship with his murder victim Hartanto Santoso and had a girlfriend at the same time.
  • Guest Fighter
  • I Know Kickboxing: And trained at AMC Pankration.
  • Jerkass: He was described as a young man who "felt he had absolute power over other human beings" and wanted "the good life" and didn't want to work for it, once talking Hartanto Santoso, a nursing assistant into a $400 loan and, after choking him then bound and gagging him with duct tape in January 2001, trying to rob him of $700 by threatening to inject him with drain cleaner and also pointed a 9-mm handgun at his head. Mason was charged with kidnapping and robbery. On Jan. 29, 2001, a Superior Court judge released him without bail at the urging of his father, John Mason, a retired Seattle assistant police chief. He was then charged with murdering Santoso, who so feared for his life that he asked police to put him in jail or let him sleep on the police-station floor after Mason was released, then went missing with his apartment filled with blood. After a 10-week trial, a jury found Mason guilty. The trial court imposed a sentence of life without possibility of parole.
  • Red Baron: "The Sensation".

Naoki Matsushita

Martijn Meenhuis

Itchaku Murata

Eiji Murayama

Toru Nakayama

  • The Apprentice: To Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa.
  • Cool Teacher: The head trainer of Tri-Force Gotanda.
  • I Know Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Trained at Tri-Force Academy, is a black belt, a 2007 BJJF All Japan middleweight open champion at brown belt, a 2010 All-Japan Middleweight Champion at black belt, placed 3rd in the lightweight European open championships, and a 2011 Tokyo International Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu middleweight and openweight champion. He also trained in Sambo as well as combat and shoot wrestling under Team IMPRESS.

Katsuhiko Ochiai

Ken Omatsu

Seiji Ozuka

Charles Pearson

Bruno Queroy

  • The Apprentice: To Toniko Jr.
  • I Know Muay Thai: Trained at the World Fight Center, as well as luta livre.
  • Jobber: Had only one fight in Shooto against Takumi Nakayama, he lost.

Murilo Rua

"Shogun Rua was the heir apparent to the Chute Boxe legacy, a seamlessly talented wrecking machine who thrashed his way through virtually everybody he met in Pride. He was a star. But he would not have become that star were it not for his older brother Murilo, better known as Ninja. He was the prototype that Shogun built upon, a unique alchemy made from the dominant styles of Chute Boxe: The smoothly-flowing muay thai techniques of Jose Landi-Jons, the violent, punchy aggression of Wanderlei Silva, the fast-moving, leglock-heavy grappling of Cristiano Marcello. Ninja represented the future of Chute Boxe. Unfortunately: He was. Ninja debuted in 2000 as an immediate force in the sport: He swept the first five Meca World Vale Tudo events and got invited to Pride just a year afterward. He racked up an impressive 5-3 Pride run in just his first three years, including violent stoppages over the notoriously tough Daijiro Matsui and Akira Shoji, but there was a pattern emerging: All three of his losses came against an ascending order of people used to fighting at higher weight classes—from the negligibly-different Dan Henderson to the noticeably more muscular Ricardo Arona to the former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman. Ninja was already slightly pudgy at 5'11" and a weight that fluctated between 185 and 200. A good coach would have taken him to the UFC and had him cutting down to 170 pounds, fighting people his size. But this was Pride, and moreover Pride in 2004, which wouldn't have a welterweight division for another year. So Ninja went the other way. In one of the worst ideas in mixed martial arts history, Ninja put on an extra 20 pounds—nearly all of it in his gut—to enter the 2004 Heavyweight GP. He drew the undefeated, 6'3" phenomenon Sergei Kharitonov. It's a profoundly uncomfortable fight to watch: A visibly out of shape Ninja getting repeatedly drubbed upside the head by a man who not only schools him in boxing but outsizes him by two weight classes. Rua is concussed within forty seconds, gets wobbled every time Kharitonov touches him, and is ultimately pounded limp against the ropes in just over four minutes. It's less a fight than a beating, and it left Ninja needing brain surgery. There's an old MMA cliche about fights that take someone's soul, losses so bad they break a fighter. Sergei was Ninja's. His career was only half over, and the latter half was by no means unsuccessful—he would go 11-10 in his remaining fights, retiring at 20-13-1, challenged for the BAMMA Middleweight Championship and briefly held the short-lived Elite XC Middleweight Championship—but he was never the same, and never won against top-flight competition again. His style was slower and less certain, his once-great chin evaporated, and in interviews he became gradually harder to understand, particularly as he accrued more and more damage—in the 19 fights he had after Sergei, his already-damaged brain ate five more knockouts, until America's athletic commissions wouldn't grant him a license to fight anymore. He paved the way for his brother. But he paid a price."
— A profile of Shogun Rua from a Fire Pro Wrestling user CarlCX from https://steamcommunity.com

Flavio Santiago

  • The Apprentice: To Toniko Jr., Jorge Luiz De Souza "Tinho", Hugo Duarte, and Carlos Alberto Brunocilla.
  • Cool Teacher: Has Luta Livre schools in France and Germany. He has been a grappling coach to fighters like Cheick Kongo, Brayan Rafiq, Johnny Frachey, Nayeb Hezam, Mourad Benseghir, etc.
  • I Know Luta Livre: As well as Muay Thai at the World Fight Center.
  • Red Baron: "Peroba".
  • Ur-Example: Brought Luta Livre to France.

Leopoldo Serao

Tsutomu Shiiki

Masato Shiozawa

Anderson Silva

"To be honest with you, I really don’t like to hurt my opponents; this just happens to be our job. But if somebody disrespects me they will pay for it. I promise."

  • The Ace: Silva holds the longest title streak in UFC history, a record of 2457 days, with 16 consecutive wins and 10 title defenses.
  • Always Someone Better: His UFC title reign was stopped by Chris Weidman and he also lost the rematch.
  • The Apprentice: To Fabio Noguchi, Cristiano Marcello, Rafael Cordeiro, Pedro Rizzo, Israel Gomes
  • Cherry Tapping: His fight with Forrest Griffin. Silva pummeled Griffin for several minutes, landing power punches and knocking Griffin all around the arena. The blow that finished it, however, was a short jab with his weak hand while backing away.
  • Counter-Attack: Has a deadly striking game that that combines this with Nonchalant Dodge.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Silva exploded into the UFC after a fairly unexceptional career in other promotions. He dispatched the rugged Chris Leben so ruthlessly in his debut that he was immediately given a title shot. Though many fans didn't think he even deserved the shot, Silva demolished the two-time defending champ Rich Franklin in the first round. Since then, Silva has dispatched a number of other worthy opponents with ease, including a thrashing of Forrest Griffin, in which Silva spent a large portion of the fight taunting Griffin with his hands down before knocking him out with a backpedaling jab.
  • Defeating the Undefeatable: Was the first man to beat Hayato Sakurai ending his 18 win streak.
    • This also happened to him against Chris Weidman.
  • Expy: Was one to Chute Boxe fighter and Vale Tudo legend José "Pelé" Landi-Jons, his body shape and style are both almost identical and in fact he trained Silva at one point and had a real life enmity with him. Pelé also had an almost identical leg break to Anderson's in 2008.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: After watching Ong Bak, Silva suddenly wanted to win a fight by leading reverse elbow. His coaches completely shot this down, so he practiced the technique privately with his wife. Come his fight with Tony Fryklund, that's exactly how Silva won.
  • Guest Fighter
  • Heroic Blue Screen of Death: Silva became demotivated and thought about quitting MMA after his loss to Daiju Takase, but was convinced to keep on fighting by Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.
  • Hero Killer: Beat Hayato Sakurai for the Shooto middleweight championship. He has also beaten guys like Alexander Otsuka, Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort, Carlos Newton, Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt, Forrest Griffin, Chael Sonnen, Demian Meia, Stephan Bonnar, etc.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.
  • I Know Muay Thai: What he is primarily known for having trained at Chute Boxe along with being a 3rd degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (and actually started his BJJ training at Nova Uniao Academy). He is also a black belt in Judo, a 5th dan black belt in Taekwondo and even tried appealing to the Brazilian Taekwondo Confederation to consider him for the 2016 Olympics, trained a bit in Capoeira, competed in two pro boxing matches and even learned Panantukan under Dan Inosanto.
  • Nonchalant Dodge: Is the patron saint of this trope in MMA. Particularly types one and three, but sometimes two as well.
  • Real Song Theme Tune: "No Sunshine" by DMX.
  • Red Baron: "The Spider".
  • Scary Black Man
  • Tempting Fate: Silva repeatedly clowned title contender Chris Weidman by dropping his hands and presenting his chin. When Weidman connected with a glancing blow, Silva theatrically mimed being hurt. Weidman responded with more punches, landing flush on Silva's chin and ending the middleweight champ's record-breaking win streak.
  • The Worf Effect: Was the favorite in his bouts with Daiju Takase and Ryo Chonan, till he got caught by Daiju in a triangle and by Ryo in a flying scissor heel hook respectively.

Daisuke Sugie

Akitoshi Tamura

  • The Apprentice: To Kenichi Tanaka.
  • Cool Teacher: An instructor at Tsudanuma MMA Dojo.
  • I Know Karate: A kyokushin practitioner and also trained in shoot wrestling trained Super Tiger Gym Tanaka Juku.
  • Minored In Ass Kicking: He competed in a lethwei tournament on July 10 & 11, 2004 and knocked out local fighter Aya Bo Sein in the second round to become the first foreigner to beat a lethwei practitioner in an official match.
  • Red Baron: "Tetsujin" ("Ironman").

Kenichiro Togashi

Yasuyuki Tokuoka

Roemer Trumpert

Tomoharu Umezawa

Yasuhiro Urushitani

Norifumi Yamamoto

  • The Apprentice: To Enson Inoue and Noriaki Kiguchi (who also trained his sisters).
  • Authority Equals Ass Kicking: Head of Killer/Krazy Bee MMA team.
  • Bratty Half-Pint: Is quite short at 5 ft 4 and about 143 ib and is described as having a controversial persona and once got in trouble with Yakuza before being bailed out by his brother-in-law Enson Inoue. He got his nickname "Kid" from the seniors of his high school wrestling department who saw his petite body, and said he looked like a kid.
  • Cool Teacher: Has his own gym, Yamamoto Sports Academy.
  • David vs. Goliath: As one of the shortest and lightest guys in MMA who usually competes in the Lightweight division with a 10 ib disadvantage this is expected.
  • Downer Ending: Wrote on his Instagram on August 26, 2018 that he was diagnosed with cancer. He died on September 18, 2018, he was 41 years old.
  • Hero Killer: Defeated guys like Royler Gracie, Caol Uno and Genki Sudo to win K-1 HERO's 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix.
  • I Know Freestyle Wrestling: Comes from a Wrestling Family, wrestled in the United States at Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe, Arizona, capturing three state championships (with a third-place finish as a freshman), during that time he lived and received training from Townsend and Tricia Saunders and even tried to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in freestyle wrestling until an injury forced him back into MMA. He also trained briefly under Choi Mu Bae in Greco-Roman wrestling. He also learned Kickboxing, combat wrestling and of course shoot wrestling.
  • One-Hit Kill: Has the fastest ever knockout in a major MMA promotion by 4 seconds against Kazuyuki Miyata. As of December 24, 2011, only Duane Ludwig tied this record with his win over Jonathan Goulet.
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Is 5 ft 4 in height and about 143 Ib who competes in the Lightweight class (which the weight limit is 155 ib in K-1 HERO's and DREAM) and usually won during his time in those promotions.
  • Red Baron: "Kid", "Kami no Ko" ("Child of God").
  • Wrestling Family: A freestyle wrestling family, his father Ikuei Yamamoto representing Japan at the 1972 Olympic games in Munich and his sisters Miyuu and Seiko both won world championships in freestyle wrestling, both wrestled for All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling though at different times and Miyuu also recently tried MMA. His nephew, Arsen Yamamoto, Miyuu's eldest son is also an accomplished wrestler and has also recently tried MMA.

Takeshi Yamazaki

  • The Apprentice: To Naoyuki Taira.
  • Ascended Fan Boy: Was a fan of RINGS and UWF International.
  • Cool Teacher: Head Instructor of Reversal Gym Shinjuku Me, We.
  • I Know Judo: In high school, also trained in Kendo in junior high school. He also trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, shootboxing, and shoot wrestling at Strapple MMA Gym and Shinjuku-Sports Center.
  • Red Baron: "Grabaka no Jūjutsu Masutā" ("Grabaka's Jiu-Jitsu Master"), "Heisei no Okumaku-maru".

Noriyuki Yokoyama

    Debuted in The Treasure Hunt Year (2002) 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_4254.PNG
Not All Treasure Is Silver And Gold

Masatoshi Abe

Akira Kikuchi

Yoichi Fukumoto

Jin Kazeta

Henry Matamoros

    Debuted In The Young Leader Year (2003) 

    Debuted In The Shooto Junkies Year (2004) 

    Debuted In The Soulful Fight Year (2005) 

Shinya Aoki

"Baka Survivor!"

  • Always Someone Better: Lost to Hayato Sakurai in which he claimed to be a sketchy decision, and later lost to him again in their rematch via Curb-Stomp Battle.
  • The Apprentice: To Yuki Nakai.
  • Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: It's sure to say that he spends as much energy taunting his opponent (after the matches, that is) as he spends fighting.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: For his ostentatious taunts and goofy personality. Unlike most examples, however, it has only turned him into a very hated fighter in his own country instead of a fan favourite.
  • Crippling Overspecialization: Is one of the best no-gi grapplers around and can do wonders once the fight hits the mat, but the rest of his skills is very, very limited, and he reacts to strikes as if he had forgotten he is fighting a MMA bout and can be punched after all (this is probably because he is short-sighted).
  • Expy: He and his friend Masazaku Imanari are arguably the successors to Rumina Sato. They are lightweight fighters with crazy submission skills and a penchant for flying techniques and openings from unpredictable angles (in that sense, they are even more overspecialized in grappling than Sato ever was) but with laughably weak chins.
  • Glass Cannon: Great in offensive submissions, but not so much in taking hits.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Masakazu Imanari as the Anime Those Two Guys of MMA: they are best friends and former classmates, often train together, and corner each's other in fights. In fact, Aoki stated in an interview that he does not see Imanari as a friend, but as a brother. Aww.
  • I Know Judo: Champion and fan of the kosen judo. He later specialized in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and shoot wrestling as well.
  • Nerd Glasses: He wears them, as he is actually short-sighted.
  • Red Baron: "Tobikan Judan" ("10th Dan in Flying Submissions"), "Baka Survivor".
  • Sadist: He will gleefully break a limb if he can get his hands on it.

Keith Wisniewski

    Debuted in The Champion Carnival Year (2006) 

    Debuted in The Everybody Fight Now Year (2007) 

    Debuted in The Earth, Wind and Fighter Year (2008) 

    Debuted in The Revolutionary Exchanges Year (2009) 

    Debuted in The Way of Shooto Year (2010) 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/download_397.jpg
Now For The Real Question: Like a Tiger Or Like a Dragon?

    Debuted in The Spirit Aomori Year (2011) 

    Debuted in The Survivor Year (2012) 

    Debuted in The Isami Shooto Caravan Year (2013) 

    Debuted in The Latest Years (2014-Present) 

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